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Laura Huhtasaari

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MEP
Laura Huhtasaari
Huhtasaari in 2016
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Satakunta
Assumed office
5 April 2023
In office
22 April 2015 – 2 July 2019
Member of the European Parliament for Finland
In office
3 July 2019 – 11 April 2023
Succeeded byPirkko Ruohonen-Lerner
Personal details
Born (1979-03-30) 30 March 1979 (age 45)
Vilppula, Pirkanmaa, Finland[1]
Political partyFinns Party
EducationMaster of Education
Alma materUniversity of Jyväskylä
OccupationPolitician, teacher

Laura Huhtasaari (born 30 March 1979) is a Finnish politician and teacher. As a member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland from April 2015 to July 2019.[2] She was the Finns Party candidate for the 2018 Finnish presidential election. In 2019 Huhtasaari was elected to the European Parliament with 92,760 votes[3][4]

Life and career

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Huhtasaari graduated as Master of Education in 2004. She has worked as an elementary teacher and a special education teacher.[5] She was elected to the City Council of Pori with 1,064 votes in 2012[6] and again with 2,566 votes in 2017.[7] She stood in the 2014 European Parliament election and received 9,132 votes[8] but was not elected. In 2015 Huhtasaari was elected to the Parliament with 9,259 votes.[9] In the Parliament, she is currently member of the Legal Affairs Committee, the Education and Culture Committee and the Finnish Delegation to the Nordic Council.

Huhtasaari endorsed Jussi Halla-aho for president of the Finns Party.[10] She was elected first vice president of the Finns Party on 10 June 2017, the same day when Halla-aho was elected president.[11] On 4 August 2017, Huhtasaari was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Finns Party.[12] In the election, Huhtasaari placed third with 6.9 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president Sauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes.[13]

She was elected to the Parliament of Finland in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election.[14]

Views

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Huhtasaari believes that the European Union is going to collapse and Finland should leave the EU.[15] She accused the EU of trying to turn Finland into a state, which she described as a threat to Finnish interest, sovereignty and democracy. She also suggested that Finland withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty and Paris Agreement, and ban Islam from the country.[16][17]

Huhtasaari opposes Finland becoming a member of NATO but supports developing cooperation with the alliance.[18] She is a supporter of former President of the United States Donald Trump.[19][20] As a Eurosceptic, she strongly defends the Brexit decision.[21] She also believes that the president of Finland should have more power.[22]

After the 2020 United States presidential election, Huhtasaari tweeted that "USA is now a communistic nation".[23]

Huhtasaari has also said that "feminists today loath Jewish-Christian culture and they hate white Christian men".[24]

Huhtasaari is a creationist and believes that evolution is a "totally impossible theory".[25] She has also said that Finland should reject international agreements to prevent economic migrants from coming to Finland.[26]

Thesis plagiarism

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During the 2018 presidential election campaign, Huhtasaari was accused of plagiarising parts of her 2003 M.Sc. thesis.[27] The matter was investigated by her alma mater, the University of Jyväskylä, with the conclusion that only 10 per cent of the thesis was plagiariased, and that the plagiarism was not particularly serious considering the policies of the university at the time.[28]

However, in May 2018, Finland's national public broadcasting company YLE reported that approximately 30 per cent of the thesis was plagiarised, after an YLE journalist identified a previously unknown source for the text in Huhtasaari's thesis.[29][30] Huhtasaari responded by claiming to have written the dissertation in good faith, relying on any shortcomings being detected during the review process.[31] She also claimed to have followed the university's own guidance regarding citing of earlier theses, namely that such citations were (allegedly) advised against, as dissertations could not be guaranteed to be of sufficiently high academic standards.[32] To defend her integrity, Huhtasaari published a positive employment certificate for her 1-year-tenure as a second-grade teacher at an elementary school in the Marshall Islands from April 2000.[33]

The University of Jyväskylä released its detailed report in August 2018, finding serious plagiarism and disregard for the scientific method throughout Huhtasaari's thesis.[34] As the statute of limitations had passed, the university will not pursue further action.[34]

Elections contested

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Presidential elections

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Year Votes % Result
2018 207,337 6.9 3rd

Parliamentary elections

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Year Constituency Votes Result
2011 Satakunta 1,950 Backup
2015 Satakunta 9,259 Elected
2019 Satakunta 12,986 Elected
2023 Satakunta 8,393 Elected

European Parliament elections

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Teuvo Hakkarainen and Laura Huhtasaari during the Constitution of the 9th legislature of the European Parliament in 2019
Year Constituency Votes Result
2014 Finland 9,132 Not elected
2019 Finland 92,760 Elected

Municipal elections

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Year Municipality Constituency Votes Result
2012 Pori Satakunta 1,064 Elected
2017 Pori Satakunta 2,566 Elected

References

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  1. ^ Muurinen, Sakari. "Lisää valtaa presidentille, toivoo Laura Huhtasaari". Laura Huhtasaari (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Laura Huhtasaari". Parliament of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Home | Laura HUHTASAARI | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  4. ^ SatakunnanViikko. "Huhtasaari Brysseliin, Huru eduskuntaan". www.satakunnanviikko.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  5. ^ Huhtasaari, Laura. "Esittely". laurahuhtasaari.fi. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Votes cast for candidates". Vaalit.fi. Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Candidates elected". Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  10. ^ Laakso, Antti (3 January 2017). "Kansanedustaja Huhtasaari vaihtaisi Soinin Halla-ahoon". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  11. ^ "New leader Halla-aho to push Finns Party in nationalistic, Eurosceptic direction". Yle News. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Perussuomalaiset aikovat asettaa kansanedustaja Laura Huhtasaaren presidenttiehdokkaaksi". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Presidentinvaali 2018, 1. vaali: Ehdokkaiden äänet" (in Finnish). Ministry of Justice. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  14. ^ Karvala, Samu (2023-04-13). "Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner palasi EU-parlamenttiin – "Olen sydämeltäni aina porvoolainen ja hamarilainen"". Uusimaa (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  15. ^ Tikka, Juha-Pekka (9 February 2017). "PS:n kansanedustajalta uusi idea EU-erosta: Voisiko hallitus tukea tätä?". Verkkouutiset. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari: Maamiinat takaisin turvaamaan rajojamme". Suomen Uutiset. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Huhtasaari irtisanoutui ensitöikseen Pariisin ilmastosopimuksesta ja siteerasi Trumpia". Satakunnan Kansa. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Presidenttiehdokkaat tukevat Nato-suhteiden tiivistämistä – Paitsi Merja Kyllönen, joka moittii Suomen ujuttautumista sotilasliiton kainaloon "salarakkaaksi"". Helsingin Sanomat. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  19. ^ Laakso, Antti (9 November 2016). "Trumpin voittoa toivonut kansanedustaja: "Ennustin tätä jo vuoden alussa"". Yle News. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  20. ^ Finland’s Marine Le Pen. POLITICO. Author - Reid Standish. Published 26 January 2018. Updated 29 January 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Laura Huhtasaari sulatti brexit-brittien sydämet puheellaan - "Rakastan tätä naista"". 2 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Lisää valtaa presidentille, toivoo Laura Huhtasaari". 8 August 2017.
  23. ^ Vento, Heikki (2021-01-13). "Kommunistien hallussa". Suomen Kuvalehti.
  24. ^ Ovaskainen, Kristiina (2018-03-08). "Huhtasaari: Feministit ajoivat aiemmin naisten oikeuksia, nyt he vihaavat valkoista kristittyä miestä". Suomen Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  25. ^ Sandell, Markku (15 September 2015). "Kehitysopista kiistelty Darwinista lähtien – Laura Huhtasaari (ps.) jatkaa linjaa". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  26. ^ Laakso, Antti (11 November 2015). "Kansanedustaja: Turvapaikanhakijat käännytettävä keinolla millä hyvänsä". Yle News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Huhtasaari says plagiarism allegations are starting to feel like witch hunt". www.helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  28. ^ Suomi, Uusi. "Jyväskylän yliopisto teki päätöksen Laura Huhtasaaren gradusta – Yle: Plagiointia, mutta vain vähän". Uusi Suomi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  29. ^ "Ylen selvitys paljastaa: Laura Huhtasaaren gradussa rajusti luultua enemmän plagioitua tekstiä – professori: "Plagiointia ei voi mitenkään kiistää"". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  30. ^ Yle report: Finns Party presidential candidate's master's thesis "systematically plagiarised" YLE 11.5.2018
  31. ^ "Laura Huhtasaarelta erikoinen vastaveto plagiointikohuun - julkaisi työtodistuksensa mikronesialaisesta adventistikoulusta: "Neiti Huhtasaari on ihanteellinen opettaja"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  32. ^ "Räikeästä plagioinnista syytetty Laura Huhtasaari: Olin yksittäisen graduohjaajan varassa, ja graduihin viittaamista ohjeistettiin välttämään" [Laura Huhtasaari, accused of gross plagiarism: I relied on a single supervisor, and citing dissertations was against guidance]. Iltalehti. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  33. ^ Huhtasaari, Laura (2018-05-11). "Character assassination - Henkilökuvan lokaaminen". Uusi Suomi Puheenvuoro (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  34. ^ a b Savela, Sanna (27 August 2018). "Jyväskylän yliopisto: Laura Huhtasaaren gradussa enemmän plagiointia kuin aiempi selvitys osoitti" (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
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